TSRA is comprised of a lot of people that enjoy rivers, and some of us are able to spend time keeping an eye on our favorite watersheds. These river adopters focus on a variety of efforts to ensure the future of healthy streams across Tennessee. Our efforts include simple observation of watershed activities, monitoring of invertebrates (instream sentinels of possible pollution), trash cleanups, and streambank stabilization projects. Adopters enjoy their streams when they're clean, and they work with various entities such as TDEC's Division of Water Pollution Control to improve them when needs arise.

What is the purpose of the Adopt-A-River (AAR) program?

The Adopt-A-River program is way to keep eyes on the rivers, so we can be even more effective than regulatory agencies in terms of spotting potential watershed problems. Each adopter focuses on a particular stream or river - maybe even a favorite section. Most people adopt a stream or river near their home or on a river that they regularly paddle or otherwise visit. We take a two-pronged approach - river protection and river enhancement. River adopters watch the waters that are in good shape and report problems that arise, such as pollution incidents that can be corrected. (We just pat ourselves on the back when everything is looking good.) We also do our best to improve rivers through actions such as cleanups and stabilizing eroding streambanks. We ask all adopters to conduct one or more stream surveys (including invertebrate samples) each year.